This invention relates to an apparatus for picking up small thin integrated circuits and loading them into individual frame-like protective carriers adapted to support them by means of elastically bendable elongated holding pieces, and also for unloading these integrated circuits from such carriers.
Many thin integrated circuits (ICs) are not only small and thin but also delicate and easily damaged. For transporting them, use is commonly made of protective carriers, and the small ICs must be extricated from such carriers before they can be put on an electronic product. FIG. 8 shows an example of such a carrier 50 characterized as being a single-piece molded structure having a frame-like housing 52 with indentations 58 (or semi-circular cut-outs) on outer edges for positioning purposes (to be explained below) and two unistructurally formed tongue-like elongated holding pieces 55 protruding inwardly therefrom in mutually opposite directions. These holding pieces 55 are elastically bendable and the distance between them is such that an IC piece (shown by broken lines at 60) can be inserted only if they are pushed slightly outward away from each other to enlarge the gap therebetween. After the IC piece 60 is thus inserted and the holding pieces 55 are released, the IC piece 60 is "captured" by knobs 56 protruding from the holding pieces 55.
In order to remove the IC piece 60 from its carrier 50, the holding pieces 55 must be pushed away from each other. As the gap between the two holding pieces 55 is increased, the IC piece 60 can be released from the carrier 50. Since these ICs are extremely delicate, they must be loaded into or picked out of their protective frames only with an extreme care. It is a general object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of efficiently and carefully loading thin ICs into such carriers as described above, as well as disengaging them from the carriers such that they can be transported to a specified device-assembly position.